Donmatt: Thanks for the encouraging words.

 

I just had two Michelin Latitude Touring 19-inch tires put on my 2010 RX today at the dealership. I had a low tire pressure light come on Friday evening, and took it in on Saturday, and ended up there was a nail in the left rear tire, and apparently it was too close to the sidewall to patch. Thankfully I purchased Tire and Wheel insurance when I bought the RX, so I went ahead and purchased the second tire since the car just turned a little over 30,000 miles on it, and I really didn't want to put one brand new tire on it. Of course, that one tire is gonna turn out to be pretty expensive to purchase. I find out tomorrow what the total charges will be, but I'm hoping the RX is gonna start driving better, as I have been unhappy with the ride quality with the original Dunlops. It's gonna cost $330 just for the one tire, let alone all of those other wonderful costs, such as an alignment and other fees and such.

 

I'll be interested in your impression of the ride/driving changes with the Michelins. Sure $330 is a lot for a tire, but if the change makes your RX feel like a new car, it's a lot cheaper than the real thing.

 

Never anything but Michelins for me. $230 was a good price to get rid of the Dunlaps and a lesson learned.

 

Mine came from the factory with Michelins so I was happy.

 

Very interested in why this is so? I am ready to buy a 2013 and was planning on a Japanese build vehicle, why should I go with Canadian? I do agree about the tires, our test drive revealed the difference to be considerable. Thanks for the tip about the seats.

 

MikeP, I'm definitely feeling the difference with only two Michelins on my RX. They put them on the front and kept the Dunlops on the back. I still haven't heard back what the total cost is going to be for that one tire yet. I guess I'll have to call tomorrow. But, yes, it has been worth it. I can't wait for when it's time to change out the other two. It will certainly be the Michelins, but I'll probably go through Tire Rack to purchase them.

 

After reading several of your comments, I rethought complaining about the charge for the swap and just be grateful I was able to have Michelins installed. My only comment at the time was to the service adviser who handled the tire swap. Today I got a call from my Sales Person, telling me that my tag and registration was in and If I passed by the dealer, he would install the tag. A friend was close to the dealer, so I asked him to pick up the tag for me. When My buddy gave me the tag, attached to it was an envelop with "From (salesman) and (sales manager)". Inside was a check reimbursing me for $230, the full amount of the charge for the tire swap.

Since I posted the above negative comments, I thought it only fair to post the positive outcome. Ultimately, that's why I have stuck with this dealer for all my purchases.

 

That's fantastic, Mike. How are the tires?

 

Anita, I had so few miles on the Dunlops, I have a difficult time comparing them to the Michelins. I feel much better having Michelins on my RX because I have always had good experience with them. Having exclusively owned sedans in the past, including an ES350 and LS460, my 2 prior to the RX, I'm still getting acclimated to the stiffer ride. I wish Lexus would consider an adjustable suspension from soft to firm and also to lower & raise ride height. For me it has been very easy to adjust to everything else about the RX, but with only about 600 miles on the odo, the ride is taking a little longer.

 

I am on my 7th RX lease and I can't remember what brand of tires I had on any of them. The only thing I do remember is on the 2000 I complained about them wearing early (around 25,000 miles). I was told they were luxury tires and they used softer rubber for a better ride.. I then went into sales and leased a 2003 with nothing down and the dealer paid off the old lease. My payment on the 2003 was less than on the 2000.

 

Guess there's some benefit to tires wearing prematurely.

 

I had Dunlop's on my 2010 RX450h AWD and they lasted 36,196 miles, although mostly interstate, and I was mostly happy with them except for 2 reasons:
1.The outer edges wore off when I still had another 5000 miles of tread or so. I checked the tire pressure regularly via gauge, and checked the instrument panel every ride. Kept them at 34. The alignments I had, came back needing negligible corrections, with before and after printouts. Also had nitrogen air.
2. When I replaced them with Michelin Latitudes, I had a noticeable improvement, once again mostly interstates, and with nitrogen air. To be fair, the Michelins had 0 miles on them, and the Dunlops were on the way out. Price for the Michelins at a Lexus dealer was $269 each, plus $89 mount and balance, including nitrogen air. Also had to pay sales tax. This particular dealer also gives out 10% of purchase for service dollar rewards on future service. Just traded in the 2010 last week, with less than 4000 miles on them, so someone is going to get almost new tires.
I just got a 2013 RX450h AWD, and had good timing, or a good mood salesperson, to get the Michelins. Very smooth ride so far after 300 miles. Glad to have got them, as except for the one set of Dunlops, have had Michelins on my Lexus cars since 1999 and Toyotas before that, so guess I am brand loyal, both Lexus and Michelins. Not sure about Bridgestones or Pirellis, but sure someone will have reviews as we all add on the miles. Interested especially in an RX Pirelli review as they score well on all the tire ratings.

 

I had a similar experience with my dealer. I whined about the Dunlop tires and my SA ageed to arrange for a visit to the service dept to swap my Dunlops for a set of Michelins from a new vehicle in their stock (they just swapped my wheels with the others). I had 2300 miles on mine but I had been whining for a while. The SA told me I'd just have to pay for the labor, which I was happy to do. When I picked up the vehicle there was no charge!

And I can already tell the difference in the ride - quieter, maybe a little softer. Yep, I'm a happy camtper!

 

John, your dealer was very generous, swapping your wheels/tires without cost, especially having 2300 miles on them. Glad you are enjoying your Michelins.